Chapter 21

.::The Bubble Finally Pops::.

Something was wrong with Ashido Mina.

Anyone could tell after spending long enough around her. It all started when she'd shown up to school on Tuesday and announced to the world she had "sudden weird partial amnesia." Ashido was admittedly a prankster and this would be far from the wackiest thing she'd done to try to get out of a test, but her acting wasn't that good. She genuinely didn't know where the classrooms were or even the names of any of their classmates except Eijirou and Kirameki.

So yeah, that was weird enough. However, what Eijirou really couldn't get was her sudden obsession with him.

"Kirishima-kun, let's go!" she called, laughing as she dragged him down the street. "The movie's gonna start in like, ten minutes, and we need to hurry before they shut the doors!"

"Ashido, slow down!" he whined, trying to pull his wrist free from her grip. "And let go! Seriously, you're practically crushing the bone!"

"Then just use your Hardening to block it!" Mina shot back with a grin. He shot her a half-hearted glare but she just laughed it off, turning forward as she continued dragging him along. Her vice grip remained tight and almost painful, leaving him sorely tempted to follow her advice and use his Quirk to block it, but he bit back the urge. Behind him he could hear Ashido's friends sigh, an increasingly familiar sound.

"Still energetic as ever, huh," Kirameki-san muttered with a smile. "Guess some things never change, amnesia or not." Anjou snorted next to her, the teal-haired girl smirking down at her cell phone.

"Ashido being anything but hyper would violate a law of nature," she drawled, tapping away at the screen like always. "You should know that by now, you've known her the longest."

"Are you going to be on your phone in the movie?" Eijirou asked, twisting his head to squint at her. "Pretty sure you're not allowed to take that in." He'd never seen Anjou without her phone outside of class, and part of him seriously wondered what she was doing on it all the time. (The other part was too scared to ask.) The girl just grunted, waving one hand dismissively while still typing with the other one.

"Eh, I can disconnect for a couple hours. Movies should be stimulating enough."

"The Ouroboros series is always stimulating!" Kirameki declared, her skin sparkling as she grinned at her. "I can't believe the third one's finally out! I thought it'd be in production hell forever! And this one's even got Sosaki Shino in it!" Now her eyes glittered, her hands clasped together as she stared up at the sky. "Sosaki-san is so beautiful and mysterious, she's like the female version of tall, dark and handsome!"

"...R-right." Eijirou quietly turned around as she began babbling excitedly about the actress, his shoulders slumping as he sighed. Between Ashido's assertive exuberance and Kirameki's tendency to go on sparkle-laden tangents, he felt a bit overwhelmed and out of place with this group.

Before last week he'd barely interacted with any of them, not even Ashido. They didn't know each other that well despite going to the same middle school, having only been in the same class first year. The only reason they spoke at all was because they ended up coincidentally living in the same apartment building after getting into Sakakura High. That alone had apparently been enough for the pink-haired girl to latch onto him following her amnesia though, and now he was being forced to go to the movies with them.

I haven't even seen the other Ouroboros movies, he thought mournfully, but withheld from saying as much aloud. Something told him it'd just make their reactions worse.

At least it distracted Ashido from her new online friend. She still hadn't responded since that ominous message on Tuesday, which had made Ashido grow increasingly moody. She kept looking at her phone with this slightly agitated look, and even tried to pressure them all into sending "Infinity Girl" friend requests. After watching her fidget all day long, Eijirou would happily go see the movie if it meant a break from that. It was Friday anyway, so it'd be a nice way to end the week.

As they walked along though he heard an explosion, making all of them freeze. Immediately they spun to see smoke rising not too far away, all four of them growing tense and wary. An anxious atmosphere settled over the street, other pedestrians also stopping and their voices melding into a low hum. "Villain attack?" Anjou muttered lowly.

"Probably," Eijirou agreed, just as quiet. Another explosion sounded, slightly closer, and more smoke appeared. This time they could hear screams, clear and full of terror. Kirameki fidgeted uncomfortably, stepping back slightly as her hand reached for Ashido's as the pink-skinned girl stared at the smoke wide-eyed.

"We need to go," she said. "It might be the same guy from last week." Ashido startled at that, frowning at her.

"Wait, he wasn't caught?"

"No, the heroes and police had to rescue people from the building he collapsed so he got away."

"Judging by that smoke, that'll probably be the same case this time," Anjou added. "Forget the movie, that looks like it's two streets over at the most. We don't want to get caught up if he runs this way." Ashido didn't respond, just continued staring at the rising smoke with an unreadable look in her eyes.

"Ashido?" Eijirou pressed, tugging on her arm. "Come on, we need to go."

"No." The word caught him by surprise, all three turning to look at her with varying levels of incredulity.

"No?" Kirameki repeated. "Mina, what do you mean no?"

"I mean, no," Ashido said. "You guys go home, but I'm not running away." And with that she tore away from Kirameki's grip and took off towards the direction of the smoke, leaving all three of them standing in shock. Soon enough Kirameki regained her senses and she jolted, her eyes widening in alarm.

"Mina!" she yelled, lurching after her, but Anjou grabbed her arm and jerked her to a stop.

"Don't go after her, idiot!" she scolded. "You'll just get hurt!"

"I'll get hurt?" Kirameki snapped, whirling to look at her with a frantic expression. "What about Mina? She's going right to the source!"

"Yeah, but she at least has acid to defend herself! All you can do is sparkle!"

"That's still bad!"

As the two continued hissing at each other—Kirameki in growing panic and Anjou in frustration—Eijirou just looked between them and Ashido's figure fleeing towards the source of the explosions in shock. What the hell is she doing?

Then, what the hell am I doing?

His legs began moving before he even noticed, and suddenly he realized he was racing after Ashido. Seriously, what am I doing!? "Kirishima?" Kirameki shouted, and he twisted his head back as he kept running.

"Go home!" he yelled. This is a bad idea. "I'll grab Ashido and drag her back!" I'm just going to get hurt. Yet even as doubts ran through his mind he turned and ran harder, his eyes trained on the familiar pink figure rushing around a corner ahead. People ran past them in the opposite direction, a bad sign if he'd ever seen one, but Ashido didn't seem to care.

Screw it. He'd just grab her, drag her away and get the hell out of there before anything could happen. They lived in the same building, that should be fine. They'd be fine.

Then he turned the corner and his breath caught in his throat.

The scene before him looked like something out of a disaster movie. One of the store fronts had been reduced to a pile of rubble and broken glass, the windows of several other nearby stores completely shattered. Meanwhile jagged cracks lined the road, the front end of a car sinking into a large hole that still radiated smoke.

However, even more notable was the man in a gas mask standing next to a sobbing woman kneeling on the ground, a tight grip on her arm as he faced down a local hero while brandishing a knife.

"Don't come any closer!" he hollered. "I'll tear out her throat!"

Shit. Shit shit shit. Eijirou's heart pounded as he stared at the man, suddenly highly aware that coming here was a Bad Idea. No, he knew that all along, but now he was absolutely certain of it. The woman looked terrified, her face red and her leg twisted the wrong way. As he stared at the scene in horror he noticed movement near some of the rubble, and he turned to spy a familiar pink figure skirting the edges of the scene. Ashido!

With a scared glance at the villain he quickly scampered after his classmate, catching up to her with surprising ease. "Ashido!" he hissed, grabbing her arm. "What are you doing!" The pink-skinned girl twisted her head to look back at him, her yellow irises glinting with a fiery determination that seemed to glow against the black parts.

"I'm getting him out!" she whispered, gesturing to the rubble. When Eijirou looked again he startled as he suddenly noticed a man pinned beneath it, nearly camouflaged against the stone thanks to the coating of plaster dust covering his body. He had a dazed look in his eyes as he stared at the sky, and Eijirou could see red staining where his legs were covered by a particularly large piece of stone.

Wrenching her arm from his grip, Ashido slid over to the man and dropped to a crouch next to him, turning to look at Eijirou and gesturing wildly for him to come over. Startling, he hesitated but quickly joined her, shooting a worried glance at the confrontation unfolding nearby. "This is a bad idea," he whispered anxiously.

"Would you rather leave him to die?" Ashido hissed back, and Eijirou felt his mouth go dry. He glanced down at the pinned man only to wince. Now that he was closer he could see he had jagged shards of glass and cement embedded in his arms and torso, blood lazily seeping from the cuts and mixing with the dust to create a ghastly sort of sludge. The dazed expression on his face was even clearer, and as Eijirou looked down he realized that the whiteness in his face wasn't just from the dust.

He swallowed harshly, his heartbeat picking up as he slowly looked at his classmate. "What can we even do?" he whispered roughly. He wasn't the smartest guy, but even he knew how serious blood loss could be. They didn't have any way to help him with that.

"We can get him out of here," Mina said, gesturing to the rubble. "I'm going to melt it with my acid so it's lighter. You try to lift it off and keep it from touching him!"

"Wait, what?" Eijirou's voice rose a notch as he reeled back in horror, his eyes bulging in disbelief. "But what if your acid hits me?"

"Your Hardening can block it!"

"Ashido, how do you even know that—"

"Kirishima, please," Ashido cut in, her voice hoarse and choked, and Eijirou reeled back and clamped his mouth shut. He could see the beginning of tears forming in her eyes as she looked at him, her irises wavering with anxiety and fear. The sight made his stomach sink, swallowing harshly once more.

She's just as scared as I am. She's just as lost and confused.

The thought made something harden in his chest, his expression growing firm. Nodding once, he willed his skin to harden as he reached to grab the rubble. Relief visibly flickered on her face as he moved to help, and her expression quickly grew serious and focused as she turned to place her hands atop the cement chunk.

Acid began to seep through the pores on her palms, the stone sizzling underneath her hands and beginning to melt. A drop of it rolled over the edge and onto Eijirou's arm, making him wince, but to his surprise and relief he didn't feel any pain even as it melted through his sleeve. So his Hardening DID block her acid. Once again he wondered how she knew that, but now wasn't the time.

He whined lowly as he positioned his arms to block a few more drops from hitting the man, his heart pounding anxiously all the while. As the acid ate away more of the stone he could feel the rubble grow lighter, Ashido moving her hands along the surface to spread the melting so it wouldn't be able to eat through it entirely.

After what felt like hours but was probably closer to thirty seconds it was light enough for him to lift it, and Eijirou heaved it off the pinned man with a grunt. He winced at the loud noise as it crashed into some of the other rubble nearby, making him suck in a sharp breath and look back at the villain.

Thankfully, he seemed distracted by the hero. More than that, the hero seemed to be intentionally drawing his attention away, pointedly circling towards the opposite direction to force him to turn away from them and his terrified hostage. Exhaling shakily, Eijirou turned back to see Ashido scrambling to brush away the smaller pieces of rubble from the man, her face twisted with horror as her eyes flitted towards his legs.

When Eijirou followed her gaze he blanched, his face draining of color as he quickly averted his gaze.

He'll live, he told himself silently, sounding just slightly hysterical even inside his own brain. He might need to stop wearing shorts, and maybe get a fake leg, but he'll live.

Ashido hesitated at this point, seeming to be at a loss as to what to do as she stared at the man. As he looked at her Eijirou felt a sudden rush of frustration, and bit his lip as he turned back to the man. Without only a second's hesitation he grabbed his arms, nodding at Ashido. "Grab his legs and help me lift him!" he hissed quietly, trying to avoid getting the villain's attention. Thankfully she seemed to snap out of her stupor before nodding and hurriedly grabbing his legs, grimacing as she did.

The pair moved slowly, carefully lifting him off the rubble. The man groaned in pain, his eyes pinching shut, and they both froze and exchanged panicked looks. When he didn't make any further sounds, they continued to carefully lift him. They didn't dare rush it, each step painfully slow as they continually glanced at each other to measure their pace. Eijirou felt almost stunned by how well they synchronized their movements, matching each other to minimize jostling the man's injuries.

Still, it was far too slow for his liking, and soon enough he heard a bloodcurdling scream that made them freeze. Slowly Eijirou turned his head, and he couldn't stop the startled gasp as he saw the hostage crumpled on the ground next to the villain, her body far too still as he towered over her with a bloody knife.

Did—did he just kill her? As Eijirou struggled to process this new turn of events the man slowly turned his head towards them, making his blood run cold. Shit.

"Well, I still have a few other options," he remarked almost lazily, his voice crossing the distance far too clearly. Even as he spoke Eijirou noticed something dark near the villain's free hand, and his gaze snapped towards it to see his index finger and thumb pressed in a circle, a dark film forming in the hole as he sharply raised his hand. Bubble-like orbs flowed out one after enough, something smoky visible swirling inside them as they flew right towards them.

"SHIT!" he screamed, nearly jumping in horror. He and Ashido both dropped to the ground while somehow maintaining their hold on the man, who released a strangled-sounding groan at the sudden jerking motion. By sheer luck their movements synchronized well enough to avoid outright dropping him, and Ashido released her grip so his legs gently touched the ground. As soon as her hands were free she sprung up and spun to face the incoming bubbles, gritting her teeth as she hurriedly rolled up one sleeve and swung her arm.

Acid sprayed from her skin in a thick arc, spreading through the air like a sheet just before the first bubble reached her. Eijirou heard a series of loud explosions as the bubbles popped and winced as he saw the acid wall waver slightly, but as it fell down he was stunned to see all of the bubbles gone. Did her acid actually just block them!?

Even as he stared he saw the hero lunge towards the villain, jaw unhinging as glowing golden needles shot towards the bomber. The villain responded with a ferocious wave of his arm that created more explosive bubbles, and as the needles hit them a long string of explosions triggered.

Eijirou thought he could hear Ashido scream as his own hands flew to cover his ears, cringing at the sheer volume of the blasts. For something so small, the bubbles had a lot of power in them, and the needles only seemed to amplify their power. He soon found himself cringing for another reason as several stray explosive bubbles zoomed their way—more specifically, directly towards the fallen man next to them.

Mentally cursing (or maybe he did out loud, his ears were ringing too hard to tell the difference), he instinctively hardened his skin and ran towards the man. As he jumped in front of him he silently screamed yet again 'What the hell am I doing!?' and prayed to whatever forces existed that his Hardening could block the explosions as well as Ashido's acid had. The bubbles seemed to move in slow motion as they approached, inching ever closer, and he squeezed his eyes shut just as the first one hit his arm.

Eijirou screamed, the sound fueled more by adrenaline than pain as he recoiled from the blast. Hardening dampened the power of the blast significantly, keeping it from actually hurting him much to his shock. It failed to fully block the concussive force though, and he felt as if he'd been punched with a brick. Two more explosions hit his body as he braced himself, each one just as hard as the first, but nothing too damaging.

Noticing there were less explosions than he'd expected, he opened a single eye and startled when he saw a sheet of acid falling in front of him. He turned his head to see Ashido standing to the side, a frantic look in her eyes as her arm hovered in the air. For a split second their eyes met, just silently communicating their shared shock and terror.

Then a loud scream sounded, breaking the moment. As the acid wall fell away they saw the villain crumpled to his knees, glowing gold needles protruding from his right arm and leg. The hero wasted no time in racing towards him, delivering a powerful uppercut to his jaw that sent him reeling back.

As the villain fell back Eijirou felt a rush of relief, the tension fading from his shoulders as he collapsed to his knees. The hero turned to rush their way and he let himself release a sound of pure relief, shaking his head wildly. Thank All Might, it was over.

(It was, in fact, not over though, but only just the beginning.)

OMAKE

Meanwhile in Musutafu...

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The Quirk-enhanced scream reverberated through the studio, interns and managers alike flinching and covering their ears. The more experienced employees just heaved tired sighs, used to their most popular host's antics. Still, Nemuri found herself worrying as she spun to look at the door to the studio where Hizashi had entered only moments ago. They'd been on their way out when he had to go back to grab his headphones, what could have happened in that short time?

She held her breath as the door opened, but instead of her blond friend Masuda stepped out, still rubbing his ears and grumbling under his breath. She peered around him into the open doorway, and through the glass window of the recording booth she could just glimpse the top of Hizashi's messy bun as he knelt on the floor. The sight made her heart sink, because with a scream like that he must have been upset.

"What happened?" she pressed Masuda, and Masuda met her gaze with the eyes of a man who'd seen far too much BS in one lifetime to care anymore.

"His headphone cord snapped off when he went to unplug them. They're officially dead." Nemuri winced, sucking in a sharp breath of sympathy.

Inside the recording booth Hizashi just cradled his now-cordless headphones against his cheeks, tears streaming down his cheeks as he mourned their loss. "My baby," he whimpered. "My sweet, precious baby...!"

After five years of faithful service throughout all his shows, Yamada Hizashi had removed his headphones for the last time.

You know, everyone predicted the messages from Uraraka would be what finally got Ashido moving. Absolutely no one predicted this. I've had this scene written up for a while now, I found a Google doc with parts of this dating back to October 2018. For the record, I actually don't know if Kirishima's Quirk can block Ashido's acid, it's never been addressed in canon, but for the sake of this story it does here! On that note, it was fun writing from Kirishima's perspective. Ashido's finally rubbing off on him!

The omake was inspired by reactions to the ending of the last chapter. I swear I did not mean for it to end so ominously, he'd just been recording in the studio all day. Mic absolutely won't die or get seriously injured anytime soon, don't worry!

Question for next time: what are the most creative/interesting Quirks you've seen a one-off villain have? (Asking because almost everyone seems to go for the "knives/blades for hands" gimmick. There's so many more possibilities out there! Let's get some more variety!)